Opinion

Guest Columnists

Waldo Canyon fire: A year later, life returning to normal

June 20, 2013: Homes are being rebuilt in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

COLORADO SPRINGS — As unbelievable as it was to witness a massive tornado of fire engulfing a city subdivision, it's almost as stunning to see that same neighborhood one year later.

Few remnants of the Waldo Canyon fire remain in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood where 347 homes were destroyed and two people died June 26, 2012. Rather, a phoenix is rising from the ashes of what was, until this month, the most destructive wildfire in state history.

New landscaping, replanted trees and rebuilt homes adorn what had been a hellscape of destruction.

Two hundred of the 347 homes have been rebuilt or are under construction.

The Mountain Shadows' resurrection has become a national model for how quickly communities can rebound from catastrophe. Agencies from as far away as California have called officials in Colorado Springs to ask how they did it.

Lessons from Waldo Canyon are also being passed on to help victims of Black Forest, where two weeks ago a fire destroyed more that 500 homes and killed another two residents.

The Black Forest fire now claims the unfortunate distinction of being the state's most destructive wildfire.

Few believe homes in the Black Forest will return as rapidly as they did in Waldo Canyon because of a number of issues, including one area being a suburban locale and the other a wooded forest. But it won't be for lack of trying.

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After the Waldo Canyon fire, a system was put in place, and a nonprofit was created to coordinate the recovery.

"Colorado Springs has gained more experience on wildfire recovery than we ever had wanted to in our lives," said Bob Cutter, head of the nonprofit Colorado Springs Together. "We unfortunately get to apply that experience again."

On Wednesday night, Colorado Springs Together will hold a free event to commemorate the anniversary of the Waldo Canyon fire and to also recognize the Black Forest fire. The night will include musical performances, tributes to firefighters and a remembrance of the two couples who died in the fires.

"It is going to be a very, very deep and emotional night," Cutter said. "At a high level, the only thing you can ultimately offer people who have lost everything is hope and solid information. If you can put the devastation and destruction behind you, the quicker you can get that hope for a future."

When people began seeing twisted metal and ashes being carted out of the Mountain Shadows neighborhood, hope started rising, Cutter said.

About a month ago, Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach and his wife, Suzi, drove through Mountain Shadows to deliver gift baskets to homeowners who had just returned to their newly rebuilt houses. The baskets were filled with wine, bread and salt — an homage to the film "It's a Wonderful Life."

Families thanked them, shook their hands and invited them in to tour their new homes.

"Just to see people being happy and having that stress lifted off their shoulders is heartwarming," he said.

Parkside, a Mountain Shadows enclave built in 1984, is where 141 of 171 homes were lost in the fire. Now, 63 homes there are under construction or have been completed, according to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

Ralph Moreman expects to move back into his new home on Majestic Drive in a week or so. Five of his 10 neighbors are returning. Moreman said he sees the forest of green through blackened trees.

"After a while, as you drive up here, you don't notice it any more," he said. "You notice the positive aspect, the new homes, the (landscaping). ... It's looking great. It's a positive thing."

Genevieve Gustavson had owned her home on Majestic Drive for 22 years before moving. Then Chris Schenck, one of the two sons she raised in that house, was living there with his two children.

Gustavson had never feared that the family house would burn down. Even when told to evacuate that fateful day, Schenck and his mom didn't panic, figuring they would return soon. The fire had been burning for three days in the Pike National Forest, and few people believed it would cross into the city.

But on that hot and dry Tuesday, the wind-driven wildfire began gobbling up acreage, exploding from 4,500 acres to 15,622 acres, jumping Rampart Range Road and into Queens Canyon. The mayor issued mandatory evacuation in the afternoon, sending thousands of people scurrying.

Within an hour, a nearby thunderstorm column collapsed, creating 65-mph winds that blasted the neighborhood, igniting homes like birthday candles.

"We were in Monument, and I looked outside, and it was this eerie yellow light and this huge plume of smoke," Gustavson said. "It looked like a war zone."

When homeowners were allowed to return to their properties, Gustavson and Schenck were shocked by what little was left of the family home.

"It looked like a campfire," he said. "You didn't recognize anything. It was all black ash."

Only a handful of items was salvaged from the wreckage.

"A whole house full of a lifetime of stuff — and you got back a half a shoebox," said Schenck, 34.

The family spent the next several months negotiating with its insurance company, working with the city and finding a builder.

Meanwhile, Schenck and his two children shared a home with his mother north of Black Forest. Nine months later, Schenck and his son and daughter were back in a new home — marking the fifth homeowner to move back into Parkside.

"The life that has come back here is amazing," Schenck said. "The impression you get now is everything is moving forward."

The Waldo Canyon fire is Colorado's most expensive wildfire — with 6,648 claims totaling $453.7 million. That ranking could change when the Black Forest fire totals are calculated.

Of the 347 homes destroyed in Waldo Canyon, only six are without a wrecking permit — the step before getting a building permit — or a written commitment of an intention to pull one.

The elements favored Mountain Shadows for rebuilding.

The Waldo Canyon area where homes burned is relatively small compared with Black Forest.

Of the 18,247-acre Waldo Canyon fire, only 1,516 acres were in residential areas.

In the Black Forest, homes are scattered throughout the fire's 14,280-acre footprint and range from mountain cabins to million-dollar residences with horse barns or other outbuildings.

Colorado Springs Utilities was able quickly to get utilities restored in Mountain Shadows. City streets in Mountain Shadows allowed for quicker debris removal, and the close proximity of homes meant building crews could work on more than one house at a time.

In Black Forest, however, the infrastructure is more rural. Many homes are on 5-acre lots with clusters of trees that will probably prove problematic for debris removal. Utilities are split among Mountain View Electric, Donala Water and Black Hills Energy. And underinsured properties are likely to be more of a problem in homes built decades ago and passed from generation to generation.

"There is a different dynamic in the Black Forest," said Bob Croft, deputy building official with Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

Also, construction is much busier than it was last year, so framers and other laborers are harder to find, he said.

"You have the problem of it being more spread out, further away from town, so more travel time," he said.

Nevertheless, Croft is encouraged about Black Forest.

"I never really anticipated Waldo coming back as fast as it did, but it's like anything: You get off to a good start, and you always seem to win the race," he said. "We are actually getting a better start in Black Forest."

The department is about to launch a website for Black Forest victims to help people understand the process. Two weeks after the Black Forest fire began on June 11, the department has already issued 91 permits for debris cleanup or utility hookups.

"Our mission here is we want to get our citizens back in their home as soon as possible," Croft said. "That is very, very important to us. Whatever it takes, we are going to do the best as we can to get people up and running, get the debris cleaned up and give them the sense they aren't battling the system. We are here to help."

El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn has put together a committee to determine how to address the rebuilding of Black Forest.

"We will look at the lessons learned from Waldo Canyon and what can we apply to the forest," he said.

One issue is whether to force homeowners whose older residences had been grandfathered in to build under new land-development codes.

"The key is going to be how much we can continue to work together as a community," he said. "It's very optimistic. I'm sure it can be done."

Alissa McCutchan, 6, shows off her bedroom in her new home in the Parkside subdivision. Alissa, younger brother Cameron and their father, Chris Schenck, lost nearly everything in the Waldo Canyon fire last summer. Their grandmother, Genevieve Gustavson, helped Alissa get some new items to help decorate her room. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)